ConsonantalAssimilation in Four Dialects of Jordanian Arabic

Wael Zuraiq, Maisoun Abu-Joudeh

Abstract

The current study investigates assimilation between consonants across a word boundary in four dialects of Jordanian Arabic. Sixteen native speakers of the 4 dialects provided the production part (four from each dialect). Another 16 trained listeners heard the phrases; and readings were transcribed. The paper reports a number of asymmetries along the dimensions of place, manner, voicing and directionality. These asymmetries are corresponding to earlier typological works in the literature (e.g. Mohanon, 1993; Jun, 1995) and a few which are not. The study presents rich linguistic data, contributing as the basis for a valuable cross-dialectal study of consonant assimilation in JA. Consonant assimilation in the four dialects provides excellent support for the results of some previous studies on assimilation in consonant clusters.